Social care spend ‘ now 8% below 2010 levels’
SPENDING on the nation’s crisis- hit social- care system is £ 600million lower today than it was a decade ago.
Social care budgets in 112 of the 150 responsible local authorities are now below 2010 levels.
Spending per head is eight per cent below the level in 2010 for England overall.
And regional reductions range from 18 per cent in London, to five per cent in the South- east, East Midlands and East of England.
The TUC, which issued the figures, is calling on the Government to fund catch- up spending plus extra cash for more carers.
Cuts
Billions of pounds should be pledged in this year’s spending review to offset the cuts of the previous decade, it said.
There should also be a promise to establish future rises at a level that will allow local authorities to meet rising demand, and improve pay and conditions for staff and recruit more carers. TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “When the country needed them, social care workers stepped up. Now it’s time to fix the broken system. Social care is badly underfunded. Pay and conditions for care workers are dreadful, and families can’t be sure of high- quality, affordable care when a family member needs it.” She said investment in social care should be “at the heart of our national recovery plan”.
Unison assistant general secretary Christina McAnea said: “Chronic underfunding of the sector has been a huge problem for many years. It shouldn’t have taken a devastating pandemic for politicians to realise this.”
Ian Hudspeth, of the Local Government Association, said: “Social care deserves parity of esteem with the NHS and this needs to be backed up by a genuine, long- term and sustainable funding settlement.”
The Health Department said: “We are providing councils with access to an additional £ 1.5billion for adult and children’s social care this year on top of maintaining £ 2.5billion of existing social- care grants. We know there is a need for a long- term solution and are looking at a range of proposals.”